<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On the red carpet at the </span><a href="https://celebrity.nine.com.au/latest/oscars-2026-winners-nominees-98th-academy-awards-full-list/c4c8b186-37f5-469f-85d6-255e202ca552" rel="" target="" title="Academy Awards"><span>Academy Awards</span></a><span> on </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/today-in-history" rel="" target="" title="March 25, 2001"><span>March 25, 2001</span></a><span>, all eyes were on </span><a href="https://celebrity.nine.com.au/latest/russell-crowe-life-career-in-photos-through-the-years/7901abd9-8b59-4ee8-aaf1-d106adee2ddf" rel="" target="" title="Russell Crowe"><span>Russell Crowe</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But many of the people surrounding him at the event were not photographers or autograph-seekers but members of the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/fbi" rel="" target="" title="FBI"><span>FBI</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/september-11" rel="" target="" title="Because the world's most notorious terrorist group"><span>Because the world's most notorious terrorist group</span></a><span> was purportedly hatching a plot to kidnap the Australian actor.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-september-23-what-happened-on-this-day-charade-copyright-error/5df60beb-3ff9-454d-9e4f-607c0cf081f8" target="" title="Tiny oversight cost beloved movie its copyright"><strong><span>Tiny oversight cost beloved movie its copyright</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Crowe had just entered the A-list for his role in </span><a href="https://celebrity.nine.com.au/latest/russell-crowe-response-gladiator-2-sequel/61979914-f6fa-449b-9dd0-e9ac23ab0c1e" rel="" target="" title="Gladiator"><em><span>Gladiator</span></em></a><span>, and he had become the frontrunner for the Oscar.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And because of his newfound fame, al-Qaeda purportedly set its sights on him.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Intercepted communications from North Africa indicated the terrorist group wanted to kidnap Crowe as part of a "cultural destabilisation plot".</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/today-in-history-march-25-what-happened-on-this-day-russell-crowe-kidnapping-plot/5a946053-24fd-48ff-90a0-78aebd7115a6" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And it was something to do with some recording picked up by a French policewoman, I think, in either Libya or Algiers," he told GQ.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It was about - and here's another little touch of irony - taking iconographic Americans out of the picture as a sort of cultural destabilisation plan."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-march-20-what-happened-on-this-day-princess-anne-kidnapping/28eae109-7afb-4aec-84fa-6cb5face085e" rel="" target="" title="Princess Anne tells would-be kidnapper 'not bloody likely'"><strong><span>Princess Anne tells would-be kidnapper 'not bloody likely'</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Crowe was given extra security at the BAFTAs and the Golden Globes. At the premiere of his film </span><em><span>Proof of Life</span></em><span>, detectives from Scotland Yard guarded him while wearing dinner jackets.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I remember going to the Golden Globes and having, like, 16 security guys with me," Crowe said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I don't even know why. They wouldn't give me any details."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And by the time the Oscars rolled around, the FBI confirmed the investigation was underway.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Crowe would go on to win Best Actor that night.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-february-25-what-happened-on-this-day-zyzzyx-road/a4c4cbcd-5d42-4ecd-8625-cb9343c93178"><strong><span>Only six people saw the biggest flop of all time</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He would pay tribute to his grandfather and uncle, and thanked his parents, fellow cast and </span><a href="https://celebrity.nine.com.au/latest/gladiator-cast-in-pictures/026b4790-2ba7-47ff-8ee1-fdd98bae29a1" rel="" target="" title="director Ridley Scott"><span>director Ridley Scott</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His acceptance speech made no mention of the FBI investigation or the al-Qaeda plot.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At the time, al-Qaeda were not the household name they would become a few months later.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They never attempted their kidnapping plot on Crowe, if they had ever truly wanted to.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Instead, their attacks on </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/september-11" rel="" target="" title="September 11"><span>September 11</span></a><span> that year would be remembered as perhaps the most harrowing event of the 21st century.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/the-greatest-movies-of-all-time-top-20-definitive-list/aa3d91c2-532f-4078-a1ab-922904ccd0b7" target="" title="The top 20 greatest movies of all time, ranked"><strong><span>The top 20 greatest movies of all time, ranked</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/today-in-history" target="" title="For more from our Today in History archive, click here."><strong><span>For more from our Today in History archive, click here</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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